Unleashing potential through generosity

Spark believes it has a big part to play in creating a better New Zealand, so it uses digital technology to power a more generous society through Givealittle, New Zealand’s crowdfunding platform for social good as well as volunteering and payroll giving from Spark employees.

Givealittle

The internet and the ‘power of the crowd’ can be strong enablers of generosity and Spark Foundation is proud to own and operate Givealittle, New Zealand’s crowdfunding platform for social good. Givealittle has grown to become a household name and is a popular and trusted platform for the generosity of New Zealanders. Hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders use the site to give financial support to the causes they feel passionate about. In FY18 Givealittle causes raised a total of $18 million in donations and reached $88.4 million in donations since the platform launched in 2008.

Spark Volunteer and Spark Give

Spark people continued to participate in volunteering and payroll giving programmes, which allow them to generously donate time or funds to causes of their choice. Spark Foundation has a network of more than 100 ambassadors who support staff engagement in these programmes across Spark. In FY18 participation in the volunteering programme reached 22.2% (from 24% in the previous year) and 1,125 days of employee time were gifted. Spark Give, the payroll giving programme, enables Spark people to donate to New Zealand schools and registered charities of their choice, directly from their pay, and Spark Foundation will match the first $500 of their giving each year. In FY18 donations made up of employee giving and matched donations from Spark totalled $840,000, compared to the previous year’s $832,250 and was distributed to 590 organisations. Since Spark Give launched in 2011, almost $5 million in cumulative donations has been gifted to 1,010 New Zealand schools and registered charities.

Read more in Spark's FY18 Environment Social & Governance Report